Calculating machine



Oct. 1, 1940. w A, W B 2,216,636

CALCULAT ING MACHINE Original Filed Sept. 26, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FlE.l

I N V EN TOR. Wefl fl We A TTORNE Y Oct. 1, 1940. w WEBB 2,216,636

CALCULATING MACHINE Original Filed Sept. 26, 1931 s Sheets-Sheet 2ELLE-LE.

Oct. 1, 1940. w, A, WEBB CALCULATING MACHINE Original Filed Sept. 26,1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR 14 8/15 /7 l l ATTORNEY F4 FIE LS-Patented Oct. 1, 1940 UNITED STATES CALCULATING MACHINE Wells A. Webb,Berkeley, Calif., assignor to Marchant Calculating Machine Company, acornotation of California Application September 26, 1931, Serial No.565,234

' Renewed March 22, 1938 11 Claims. (01. 235-66) The present inventionrelates to devices comprising a stationary part and a displaceable partand particularly to mechanism for selectively shifting the displaceablepart in either direction to any desired position.

The invention is shown and described as applied to a calculatingmachine, but is equally applicable to adding machines, printingmachines, typewriters, listing machines, check wriers, tabulatingmachines and other devices having relatively movable parts which it isdesired to position in various displaced positions with respect to eachother.

It is an object of the invention to provide means for automaticallypositioning a displaceable mechanism to a predetermined position.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for automaticallyshifting a displaceable mechanism to any one of a pluralityof-predetermined. positions under the control of means adapted todetermine the direction and the extent of movement of said mechanism.

Another object of the invention is the provision of means for lockingthe displaceable mechanism in any displaced position thereof, said meanscomprising the driving means.

Another object of theinvention is the provision of means forautomatically shifting a displaceable mechanism including unitarycontrolling means settable to a plurality of positions tocontrol'operation of said shifting means.

A further object of the invention is the provision of suitable springpower for shifting a displaceable carriage through one or more positionsin either direction upon operation of the controlling means therefor.

Another object of the invention is to provide suitable means forpositively arresting a displaceable carriage at the completion of ashift without causing undue strain on the shifting mechanism. c

Other objects will appear from the following description, referencebeing made to the drawv ings, in which:

Figure 1 is a general plan view of the tabulating shift comprising thepresent invention.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the special shift keys and associatedmechanisms.

Figures 3, 4, and are sections taken on lines 3-3, 44 and 5-5,respectively, of Figure 1 i1- lustrating the various instrumentalitiesemployed in the present invention.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary detail in plan of the mechanism which controlsthe direction as well as the extent of a shifting operation.

Figure 7 is a section taken on line '!-'I of Figure 2 showing in detailthe differentially movable slide for determining the order into whichthe carriage of a calculating machine is to be shifted and the bail forholding said slide and parts controlled thereby in its displacedposition until automatically released and restored at the termination ofa shifting operation.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary section through the parts constituting theunit for connecting an air shock absorber with the driving or actuatingmeans of the carriage during the last step of a shifting operationthereof.

Figure 9 is a detail view of the cam lever which prevents operatingconnection between the air shock absorbing means and the carriageactuating means until the last step of a shifting operation.

Shift keys The shifting mechanism is controlled by a plurality of shiftkeys I which are preferably arranged in one single row directly in frontand in alignment with the various key sections forming the keyboard of acalculating machine.

The shift control keys (Figures 1 and 2) are mounted in a key sectionframe 2 of conventional design and are held in normal or raisedpositions by compression springs 3. Disposed underneath the key stems 4and mounted in brackets 5 depending from the key section frame 2 isa'slide Ii with a plurality of V-notches l which are identical to eachother, there being one of these notches provided for each shift key stem4. At the bottom of each V-notch is a downwardly extending slot 8conforming to the thickness of the shift key stems. The distance betweenthe I center of each of these slots is the same, but is slightly greaterthan the distance from key stem to key stem so that in the relativespacing between the key stems and the slots each succeeding slot 8 isspaced one increment further away from its respective key stem than "thepreceding one, so that depression of a shift key will position the saidslide 6 a differential amount equivalent to the value of the keydepressed. A strong spring 9 tensioned between a stud 10 on the slide 6and a depending lug ll on the shift key frame always tends to return theslide 6 and all other parts controlled thereby to normal or inactiveposition. The extreme left hand end of slide 6 is provided with adownwardly extending portion which terminates in a pin 12. This pinprovides the connection between the slide 6 differentially positioned byany of the shift keys I and the mechanism for controlling the extent ofa shifting operation.

A bail l3 (Figures 1, 2 and 7) positioned directly behind said slide 6and underneath the shift key stems 4, is journalled at [4 in therearwardly extending arms 5a of brackets5 on the keysection frame 2.Whenever a shift key is depressed not only the slide 6 is positionedthereby, but also the bail [3. However, the timing of operation of thesetwo parts 6 and I3 is such that the 'bail I3 is not rocked downwardlyuntil the key stem has fully positioned slide 6 and has come intoalignment with a slot 8. The moment this happens the respective key stemwill have contacted the bail l3 and further downward movement of the keystem 4 will impart rocking movement to said bail 13. At its left handend, said bail is provided with a rearwardly extending right angularprojection 25, while at its right hand end (Figures 1, 2 and '7) it hasa depending arm IS, the purpose of which parts will be described as thespecification progresses.

Selective shift control The mechanism which is set by depression of ashift key i, through the medium of slide 6, to determine the distance ofthe carriage shift comprises a two-armed lever 21 (Figures 1 and 6)fulcrumed at 22. The forward arm Zia of this lever embraces with itsslot 23 the pin [2 of the slide 8, as already mentioned, while therearward arm 28b carries a stud 24 which projects through a slot 25 of abell crank lever 26 pivoted at 2'! underneath and to the carriage guideplate 28. The forward extremity 26a of this bellcrank is provided withan arcuate rack 29, normally positioned to the left side and in the pathof projection it on bail 53 while the rearward and shorter arm 2% ofsaid bellcrank engages with a pin 30 in the longitudinal slot 3i of alever 32 which by means of another longitudinal slot 33 in alignmentwith the first one, embraces the fulcrum 21 or" bellcrank 26 for limiteduniversal as well as longitudinal movement in opposite directions. Inexamining Figure 4 of the drawings it will be noted that lever 32normally touches with its entire upper face the underside of carriageguide plate 28, but is spaced away from the short arm 26b of bellcrank26 by means of a sufficiently strong compression spring 33a surroundingthe fulcrum pin 21. The other enlarged end of lever 32 is supported forsliding movement by a spring biased two-armed lever 34 (Figures 1 and 4)pivoted at 35. Thus it is apparent that by virtue of its peculiarmounting, lever 32 is not only capable of longitudinal adjustment inopposite directions, but also capable of limited vertical and radialmovement about its fulcrum point 21.

Lever 32 is also equipped on the upper side of its free and enlarged endwith a lug 36 which is in direct alignment with the center linebisecting fulcrum 21 and pin 36 (Figures 1 and 6). Lug 36 is adapted tocooperate with a plurality of steps 31 attached to the underside of thecarriage plate 38, there being one of such steps provided for each orderinto which the carriage (not shown) can be shifted.

The normal position of lever 32 and lug 36 is illustrated in full linesin Figure 6, in which position said lug is out of the path of steps 31.When a shift key is depressed the lug 36 is adjusted in acounter-clockwise direction a differential amount corresponding to thevalue of the depressed shift key I through the medium of slide 6, pin[2, two armed lever 2|, bellcrank lever 26 and lever 32 to which it isattached. The lug 36 is illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 6 in theposition to which said lug is moved upon depression of the I shift keywhich determines a shifting of the carriage to its extreme left handposition.

This mechanism whereby lug 36 may be selectively positioned in the pathof transverse movement of any of the steps 31, constitutes a means forforming a series of mechanical representations corresponding to therespective positions of the carriage, because in each of the positionsto which mg 36 may be set, the mechanism controlled thereby will causethe carriage to be arrested when it reaches a different positioncorresponding to that mechanically represented by the setting of the lugpositioning mechanism.

Means are provided for maintaining the adjustment given to the shiftcontrolling lever upon depression of a shift key until the carriageshifting operation has progressed to a point where the carriage isshifting into the respective order predetermined by the depressed key.

In order to maintain such adjustment of lug 36 for the period mentionedabove, bellcrank 26 is equipped with an arcuate rack 29 (Figures 1, 2and 6) at its extreme forward end, as already described, and bail I3 isprovided with a rearwardly extending projection 15 which is capable ofcoopcrating with a plurality of notches 29a formed within arcuate rack29, there being one of such notches 29a provided for each shift key I;i. e. each ordinal position of the carriage.

Thus whenever a key l is depressed by the operator, the arcuate rack 29,which normally lies to one side of projection I 5, as can be seen inFigures 1 and 2, is moved in counter-clockwise direction by virtue ofits connections 12, 2i, 24 with slide 6, an amount determined by themovement of the latter caused by the respective depressed shift key stem4. Such movement brings the proper notch 29a directly underneath andinto alignment with rearwardly extending projection IE on bail 13. Thefirst and longer part of the downward movement of a key stem 4 whenbeing depressed is utilized entirely for differentially positioningslide 6, and for bringing all cooperating parts thereof to theirpredetermined locations, this being accomplished while the key stem 4 issliding over the cooperating inclined surface of notch 1. The moment thekey stem has moved over this inclined surface and into alignment withslot 8, the second and shorter part of the downward stroke of key stem 4commences. The key stem 4 now contacts the top edge of bail l3 andfurther downward movement thereof causes bail [3 to rock about its pivotpoints l4 sufliciently to bring projection 15 thereon into engagementwith the aligned notch 29a, thus looking securly parts 6, 2|, 26, 32 andlug 36 in their selected positions while the respective key I ismaintained in such depressed position.

Ball I3 is maintained in depressed position during a shifting operationafter release of the depressed key by coil spring 52 (Figures 1 and 7)which is normally restrained but which is permitted to become effectiveduring a shifting operation by the following mechanism. As menv tionedpreviously, bail I3 is provided at its right hand end with a downwardlyextending arm l6 (Figures 2 and 7) which abuts the extreme end of thelong arm 4la of a bellcrank 41 which is fulcrumed on a suitable supportat 42. The shorter arm 41b of this bellcrank lever 4| carries a stud 410which penetrates an elongated slot 43a within the forward arm 43b of atwo-armed lever 43 pivotally supported at 44. The other arm 430 of lever43 is curved and its free end normally abuts a right angular extension45a of an arm 45 (Figures 1 and 3) which is attached to a sliding member46 at 41 for limited pivotal movement thereon. The member 46 in turn isslidably secured to a bracket 49 depending from the carriage guide plate26, by means of pin and slot connections 48. On its extreme left handend slide 46 is equipped with a lip 46a which is adapted to be engagedby a latch 53 also slidably attached to bracket 49 and normallymaintained in its uppermost position by a tension spring 50.

Members 45 and 46 are constantly urged towards their extreme right handor normal position, as shown in Figure 3, by a spring which is strongerthan spring 52 and which is tensioned between right angular extension45a and a convenient place on the machine frame (not shown). In thisposition members 45 and 46 hold bail l3 in its inoperative position asshown in Figures 1 and 7 through the medium of two-armed lever 43 andbellcrank 4|, despite the influence of coil spring 52, the strongtension spring 5| being easily able to neutralize the action of saidcoil setting of lug 36 for the entire duration of a shift independent ofthe release of the depressed'shift key by the operator. This isaccomplished by latch 53 which is always in a condition to latch slide46 whenever it is pushed to the left, against the tension of spring 5|,by depression of any of the shift keys and through the medium .of

bail l3, bellcrank 4| and two armed lever 43.

The moment such action has taken place and slide 46 (Figure 3) islatched, -all pressure is 'removed from lever 43 and 4| and coil spring52 will act of its own accord to maintain bail l3 and extension |5thereon in operative position until slide 46 is again released byautomatic means to be described hereinafter.

Shift direction control The direction of a carriage shift is determinedby a very simple mechanism to be described presently which functionsentirely automatically, making it unnecessary for the operator to set aspecial shift direction key before depressing any of the shift keys Thismechanism is largely controlled by two important factors. One is thecarriage position at the time the operator-depresses a shift key; andthe other of course is the ordinal number of the shift key depressed.

It has already been mentioned under the heading of Selective shiftcontrol how lever 32 and lug 36 are capable of a limited angularadjustment about fulcrum point 21 to bring the lug 36 into the shiftingpath of any of the nine steps or-ridges 31 on the underside of thecarriage support plate 38 (Figures 1, 4 and 6). Such adjustment of lever32 and the extent thereof is of course controlled by the respectiveshift key depressed, as has been explained under the above heading.

Each ridge 31 represents one of the nine orders of the machine to whichthe carriage may be shifted, the length of each ridge corresponding tothe distance between each order and consequently to a single shift. Thefurthest right hand step or ridge 31 represents the first order, orextreme left hand position of the carriage, while all steps to the leftthereof represent the higher orders up to nine. 4

In Figures 1 and 6 the carriage plate 38 is shown in the #6 order, whilelug 36 is shown in its initial or zero position. The upper end of lug 36is chamfered and extends through an appropriate aperture 28a in thecarriage guide plate 28 (Figure 1) into the plane of ridges 31 and isheld-in such position by spring biased twoea-rmed lever 34 (Figure 4)pivoted at 35 to a bracket 48. attached to '48, as has already beenexplained and which one is idling.

under the heading of Selective shift control. The right hand end oflever 34 underlies a nose 45b riveted or welded to member 45 anddisposed opposite thereto is a similar nose 6|a carried by a two-armedrocking lever 6| also pivoted at 35, the tip of nose 6| 0. beingpositioned slightly above the tip of nose 45b. The other and somewhatshorter arm of lever 6| is slotted at its end and is engaged by theforward and pin shaped end 62a ofa shifting fork 62 (Figures 1 and 4)which is pivoted at its approximate center to. a rearwardly extendinglug 63a formed on a bracket 63 depending from the carriage guide plate28. The other fork shaped end 62?) (Figure 5) of shift fork 62 engages aslidable clutch member 64. on a vertical shaft 65, the lower end ofwhich is supported by a suitable thrust bearing 66, while the upper endof said shaft extends through the plate 28 for perfect verticalalignment and car ries on its square end 65a which extends above theplate 28 a small drive pinion 61 constantly in mesh with the teeth ofthe rack 38a formed on the rear edge of said carriage plate 38 forshifting the same in either direction.

The clutch member 64 is keyed to shaft 65 for limited sliding movementby means of a pin 68 .which extends through the slot 69 in shaft 65. Thetwo ends of clutch member 64 are each equipped with two ratchet teeth 10and 1| which normally mesh with complementary ratchet teeth 12 and 13 onthe sleeves 14 and 15 respectively. The upper sleeve 14 is keyed to thesplined hub of a bevel pinion 16, while the lower sleeve 15 is keyed tothe splined hub of a bevel pinion 11. Both of these bevel pinions arefreely rotatable on the shaft 65. Retaining rings 18 and 19 prevent saidsleeves from sliding off of the hubs of said bevel gears 16 and 11inasmuch as they are always spring pressed towards clutch member 64 bythe compression springs 80 and Bi surrounding said hubs. Bevel pinions16 and 11 in turn are in constant mesh with a larger bevel gear 82 whichis directly connected to the shift actuating mechanism, to be describedin a succeeding part of this specification, and therefore constitutesthe driver of this bevel gear assembly 16, 11 and 82. The ratio of thegear assembly is such that gears 16, 11, shaft 65 and gear 61 rotatesthrough ninety degrees for each ordinal displacement of the carriage.

As heretofore explained, when a shift key is depressed by the operatorthe locking assembly comprising the parts and 46 is pressed towards theleft by the members l3, 4| and 43 and this movement of slide 46 and arm45 pivoted thereto is utilized to shift the clutch member 64 out ofengagement with one or the other of the two sleeves 14 and 15 in orderto establish a driving connection between either one of the two bevelpinions 16, 11 and the larger bevel gear 82 for driving through theshaft 65 the drive pinion 61 and consequently the carriage support plate38 in either direction, depending on which one of the two bevel pinions16, 11 is being driven However, as long as the clutch members 64, 14 and15 are in their neutral or ineffective positions, as illustrated inFigure 5, the entire gear assembly remains locked against any rotationwhatsoever. It should be noted that the drive assembly can not lockitself against rotation except when the carriage is properly positioned,as, after the drive is initiated, gears 16 and 11 must rotate for ninetydegrees each before the complementary ratchet teeth become effective tostop the drive. The two-armed lever 6! is always urged to the positionin which this clutch member 64 is in such ineffective or neutrallocation by a strong spring biased centralizer 83 (Figure 4) whichengages with its V- notch a pin 84 on lever 6i. This centralizer 83 ispivoted to the bracket 49 depending from plate 28 at 85 and is pulled inclockwise direction by the spring 85a tensioned between a convenient pin(not shown) on the base plate of the machine and a pin 86 on the lowerextremity of 83.

It is thus apparent that in order to shift clutch member 64, eitherupwardly or downwardly, it is necessary to rock two-armed lever 6ieither in clockwise or in counter-clockwise direction. When rocked in aclockwise direction, lever 61 and shift fork 62 move clutch member 64downwardly to remain in driving engagement with bevel pinion ii and outof engagement with the bevel pinion i6, and conversely when lever Si isrocked in a counter-clockwise direction, shift fork 62 shifts clutchmember 64 upwardly to remain in driving relationship with pinion l8 andentirely out of engagement with pinion ll. From the foregoing it isapparent that when lever Si is moved from the position shown in Figure 4one of said pinions is being driven by gear 82 to rotate clutch member64 and consequently the shaft 55, gear 81, and through rack 38a shiftthe carriage (not shown) while the other pinion rotates idly.

Means are provided for positioning a controlling member to determine thedirection of shift in accordance with the shift key depressed. Forconvenience the ordinal positions of the carriage are numbered from 1 to9 starting with the extreme left hand position so that movement of thecarriage to the left is to a lower order position and vice versa. Asillustrated in the drawings, the carriage or carriage plate 38 is in the#6 position; if it is desired to shift to the #1 position the operatordepresses the #1 shift key and the lug 36 is thereby moved from its zerolocation to the #1 location indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 6.During such movement lug 36 moves over the #6 ridge with the result thatarm 32 is momentarily depressed at its left hand end, which carries thelug 36 and such movement causes asimilar movement of lever 34 (Figure 4)in counter-clockwise direction about pivot point 35 against the tensionof spring 39 with the result that the right hand end of lever 34underlying nose 45b on arm 45 raises the latter sufficiently to bringthe point of its nose above the point of the nose Bla on 61 so thatsubsequent movement of arm 45 towards the left brings the lower edge ofnose 45a on top of nose 61a, therewith forcing the entire lever 6| torock in clockwise direction to shift clutch member 64 out of engagementwith the upper bevel pinion 16 to establish a drive of shaft 65 throughbevel gear 11, causing carriage plate 38 to shift five orders in theleft hand direction.

If on the other hand it is desired to shift from the #6 order in whichthe carriage is, into the #9 or #8 order, then lug 36 does not move overwould bring the upper edge of nose 45b below nose Bia, forcing thelatter upwardly to rotate the entire lever B! in counter-clockwisedirection and by means of the shift fork 62 shift clutch 64 out ofengagement with bevel pinion ll so that the shaft 65 would be driven inthe opposite direction by bevel pinion 16, causing the carriage to beshifted towards the right. Arm 45 can only yield in a counter-clockwisedirection about pivot 41 on account of a slotted stud 81 (Figure 3) onbracket 49 and is normally always held in contacting position with saidstud by tension spring 52.

Since the timing must be such that the selective shift control takesplace before the lock therefor is set, as is apparent when viewingFigure 2, and as has already been thoroughly explained, means areprovided for latching arm 45 with its nose 45a in raised position longenough to permit its point to locate on top of the point of nose 61aupon the subsequent movement to the left of arm 45 caused by the rockingof bail l3, bellcrank 4i and two-armed lever 43. This is of course onlynecessary when during the course of a shift selection the lug 36 hasbeen moved over one of ridges 31.

The mechanism provided for this purpose comprises a latch hook 88(Figures 1 and 3) pivotally mounted to a bracket 89 on the underside ofplate 28. A spring 90 tensioned between a central point on latch hook 88and the bracket 49 tends to hold the hook 88a normally in contact withthe forwardly extending right angular projection 45a of arm 45. Themoment arm 45 is raised by lever 34, hook 88a will immediately latch thearm in such raised position, holding it there until the entire arm 45 ispushed towards the left by lever 43. Latch hook 88 follows the movementof arm 45 sufncient distance to permit the point of nose 45b to locateon top of nose 6la. Further movement of arm 45 causes latch hook 88 todisengage from projection 450 due to the contacting of stop 882) (Figure3) with the plate 28 just after nose 45b is positioned on nose 6| a. Apin 9| on bracket 49 is provided to limit the upward movement of arm 45in order to prevent clutch 64 from shifting out of its proper positionduring the shifting operation and until again released by slide 46. Thishappens at the end of the shifting operation when slide 46 and arm 45are automatically released to return to their normal or-initial positionand all the parts controlled thereby are free to again assume thepositions shown in Figures 3 and 4 f the drawings.

Shift actuating mechanism The actuating or motive power for driving thelarge bevel gear 62 (Figures 1 and which transmits its motion to theclutch member 64 through either one of the two bevel gears 16 or H, asalready described in the preceding chapter, comprises an ordinary clockspring 96 enclosed in a suitable housing 91. The inner end of thisspring is fastened to the shaft 99 upon which both the gear 82 and thespring housing 91 are rotatably mounted, while the outer end of saidspring 96 is attached to the housing 91. The housing in turn is rigidlysecured to the hub of bevel gear 82 so that these parts always rotate inunison whenever clutch member 64 is shifted out of its neutral position.The spring 96 has sufficient force to shift the accumulator carriage ofa calculating machine through the maximum number of orders, whenproperly wound up and eration. This means comprises an ordinary frictionclutch 99 made up of two discs I and IOI. Disc I00'is formed integralwith the shaft 98, while the disc IOI is keyed to a second shaft I02carrying the drive gear I03 which is driven by the actuator through aconvenient train of intermediate gears (not shown). In order to maintaindiscs I00 and IOI in constant frictional engagement with each other,acornpression spring I04 is interposed between the disc IOI slidablykeyed to the shaft I02, and two lock nuts I05, I06 by means of which theamount of compression of said spring I04 may be varied. The two locknuts I05 and I06 fit on a threaded portion I0'I on shaft I02 and are injuxtaposition to the drive gear I63 which is keyed to the shaft forperfect alignment with thetrain of intermediate gears to the actuator(not shown) by a pin I08. The entire assembly is properly supported inbearings I09 and H0, attached in any suitable manner to an uprightsupport plate III on the base plate of the machine.

It is thus apparent that with the proper ratio between the intermediategears (not shown) and the gear I03, the. first cycle of movement of theactuator after any shift is sufficient to wind up clock spring 96through the medium of friction clutch 99, inasmuch as said spring isanchored toshaft 98 with one end and to the stationary housing 9'! withthe other end. During all subsequent actuation cycles disc IOI willmerely slip over disc I00 without rotating the latter, the spring 96having already been wound up during the first cycle'of movement of saidactuator. The spring is thus maintained in a constant state of tensionin readiness to actuate the shifting mechanism whenever a shift isdetermined.

Means are provided for locking the carriage plate in any displacedposition thereof. Said means are controlled by the slide 46' (Figure 3)and comprise two dogs H2 and H3 which are slidably mounted on the frontface of bracket 49 (Figures 1 and 3), and which are normally springpressed into engagement with appropriate rectangular shaped and equallyspaced apertures 38?) in the carriage plate 38 by the compressionsprings H4 and H5 which are anchored between the lower extremities ofdogs H2, H3 and lugs 49a and 492) formed in the bracket 49. The dogs aredisengaged from the plate 38 upon depreseion of a shift key I by slide46 inv order to permit the shift actuating mechanism to function.

To accomplish this, slide 46 is equipped with a cam face 461) (Figure 3)which cooperates with a pin I I6 on a sliding member III, also mountedin a groove cut into the bracket 49 midway between the dogs H2 and H3,as can be clearly seen in Figure 1 of the drawings. strip of metalriveted to the front of bracket 49 retains these three slidable membersI I2, I I3 and I I! in their respective grooves.

A pin II8 on slide II'I projects through a slot I I9 in bracket 49, justas pin I I6 projects through a similar slot I20 for limiting itsvertical movement. The pin I I8 also projects through slots in a pair ofbars IEI and I22 of equal dimensions which are pivoted at oppositepoints I23 and I24 to the bracket 49. The whole unit forms a con- Asuitable venient toggle joint arrangement for exerting an equal andsimultaneous'pressure upon the two pins I25 and I26 on dogs H2 and H3respectively when the slide III is pulled downwardly by the cam 462) onslide 46. 'The moment this happens carriage plate 38 is free to move ineither direction, depending on which oneof the bevel pinions I6 and "I"!(Figure 5) is driving, and this condition obtains as long as slide 46 islatched by latch 53; the moment the latter isv released,

however, dogs H2 and H3 will immediately be pressed into engagementagain by springs H4 and H5 with two of the apertures 38b in plate 38 toarrest the latter in its movement.

Shift stopping mechanism The stopping mechanism about to be described isactuated by the arm 32 (Figures 4 and 6) during its movement to the leftor right caused by the lug 36 contacting with one of the steps or ridges3'Ijust before the completion of a shift. If the carriage happens tobeshifting towards the left from a higher into a'lower order, arm 32 ispushed by the respective step 31 to the left as the carriage enters theselected position, and conversely if the carriage is shifting towardsthe right from a lower order into a higher order,

arm 32 is pushed an equal distance towards the right. Its elongatedslots 3I and 33 surrounding the pins and 21 respectively permit suchmovement in opposite directions to the extent of a distance equallingthe space between two orders, as has already been explained in apreceding part of this specification.

This lateral movement of arm 32 in either direction is utilized to rockan upright lever I3I which is pivoted at I32 toa small bracket I33fastened to the base plate I34 of the machine. On its extreme upper endis a pin I35 (Figures 1, 4 and 6) which projects through a radial slotI36 in member 32. By means of this pin I35 arm 32 is normally held inits centralized position in which lug 36 can pass over only one of theridges 31 during its adjustment by any of the shift keys I. Of course,rocking lever I3I must also be maintained in such centralized positionat all times except when it is rocked by arm 32 to operate the shiftstopping mechanism.

, For this reason a centralizer I3I (Figure 4) is provided which iskeyed to a shaft I38 journalled at its forward end in bracket 49 and atits rearward end in bracket 63. Centralizer lever I31 carries at itsfree end a pin I39 which normally engages the bottom of a V-shapedaperture in rocking lever I3I tending to hold the latter always inabsolutely vertical position by virtue of a strong spring tensionedbetween a suitable pointon centralizer I31 and the pivot point I32 oflever I3I. Keyed to the other end of shaft I38 is a lever I40 (Figures 3and 4) which rests with its free end on a lip on latch 53, so thatwhenever the lever' I3I and consequently the centralizer I31 is rockedby sliding movement of arm 32 as the carriageenters the selectedposition, lever I40 is also rocked through the medium of shaft I38 towhich both levers I31 and I40 are keyed, with the result that latch 53is pulled down and out of engagement with projection 46a onslide 46 topermit the latter to be pulled back to initial position by its strongtension spring 5I. Such movement of slide 46 immediately removes thepressure of cam 46?) from the pin I I6 on slide III so that thecompression springs H4 and H5 are free to expand again pushing dogs H2and I I3 into locking engagement with the proper apertures 38b in plate38, thus stopping the latter in its shifting movement.

In order that the dogs 5 I 2 and I I3 may engage the carriage plate 38to arrest the latter without undue strain in the position determined bythe depressed shift key l, a double acting air compressor l4! (Figures 1and'5) is provided by means of which the speed of the carriage plate 38can be slowed down during the last step of the shift. This compressor issupported by upright member iii (Figure 1) and is of conventionaldesign, comprising a cylindrical housing I42 (Figure 5) closed at bothends within which a piston or plunger l 3 is reciprocated. Piston I43 isoperated by shaft i 'll through connecting rod I44 journaled on crankpin I 46 supported between crank arms E45 and I45. Crank arm I45 ispinned to shaft i l? and M6 while crank arm I45 is similarly pinned to astub shaft I4? axially alined with shaft i i'i. Shaft I4? is to theright of and parallel to the shaft 65 and is at its lower end supportedby a thrust bearing I49 of identical design as bearing 65 and within thesame bearing block E56 as the latter.

The upper end of shaft I4? extends into an aperture within the carriageguide plate 28 for proper support and alignment with the center ofthrust bearing 345. The greater part of the shaft i4? between the crankarm I45 and the guide plate 28 is of a somewhat increased diameter incontrast to the upper and lower ends thereof. an assembly (Figures 5 and8) by means of which it is possible to connect the double acting aircompressor Mi with the shift actuating mechanism on the shaft 65 duringthe last step of a shift. This assembly I52 comprises a clutch collarE53 slidably mounted on the enlarged portion of said shaft 547 by meansof a pin and slot connection l54 and I55 respectively. The slidableclutch collar 553 is equipped with a pair of upper teeth l56 (Figure 5),diametrically opposite each other and a similar pair of teeth I5!disposed on the lower end thereof. Normally the two teeth l5? engage thetwo complementary notches i553 in a stationary member I58 fixed to theframe, The central bore i6I of member I55 surrounding the enlargedportion of shaft i4! is of sufficient diameter to accommodate acompression spring which tends to push collar [553 in upward directionto bring its pair of upper teeth I56 into engagement with twodiametrically opposed notches in the collar I64 of spur gear M55,supported and freely rotatable on the shoulder H56 formed by the upperend of the enlarged portion of shaft Such upward movement by collar I53, however, is normally prevented by a cam lever I61 (Figures 4, 5 and9) pivoted at $68- to a bracket I68a which is attached to the undersideof plate 28 and which is provided to prevent operation of the aircompressor i4l before the last step of a carriage shift. gures 5 and 9)is interposed between the two pins 66 and M6 on the collars I64 and I53,respec- This is done to facilitate mounting of The free end of cam leverI61 (Figtively, in such a manner that the lower teeth I5! on collar I53are normally kept in looking engagement with their cooperating notchesI58 in stationary member I59 and against the upward pressure exerted onsaid collar I53 by compression spring I62, thus making it impossible forthe collar I 53 to move in any direction, as well as making itimpossible for the air compressor I4I to function as both of these unitsare keyed to the shaft I41 and work in unison. This constructionexcludes any danger of piston I43 making a half stroke, due to thecompressed air behind the piston after a carriage stopping operation.Furthermore, it assures perfect alignment and timing of said teeth I56and I51 with their cooperating notches I63 and I58.

The spur gear I65 is in constant mesh with another larger spur gear I'IItwice its size which is rigidly secured to bevel gear I6 on shaft 65 bytwo pins N2, the ratio being such that each carriage shift step willcause approximately onefourth rotation of gear HI and consequently onlyone-half rotation of gear I65. Since the gear I'II. is rotated duringeach step of a shifting operation, it of course in turn rotates gear I65a corre sponding amount, so that the pair ofdiametrically opposed pinsI69 on collar I64 are also displaced. The moment that the pin I69 whichhappens to be riding on top of the high point I610 of cam lever I6! isdisplaced, the latter is free to rock upwardly a sufficient distance topermit engagement by two teeth I56 with their cooperating notches I63 incollar I64 under pressure of spring I62. However, such upward movementof lever I6'I is prevented by means hereinafter described until therotation of gear I65 incident to the last step of movement of thecarriage.

It will be noted that notches I63 are somewhat wider than the dogs I56,when viewing Figure 5. This is necessary since gear I65 must first berotated a small amount to allow pin I69 to move from the high pointI6'Ic of cam lever I67 before the latter can move upwardly far enough topermit engagement of said notches I63 by teeth I56. Further rotation ofgear I65 causes collar I53 to participate in such movement inasmuch asthe lower teeth I58 will be riding over the top edge of stationarymember I59, thus locking the slidable clutch collar 553 into engagementwith the upper collar I64 of spur gear I65. Collar I53 being keyed tothe shaft I41 forces the latter to rotate also, and with it crank armI45, which in turn operates the piston I43 in double acting compressorI4I through a single stroke.

The resistance offered by the compressor I4I to the rotational movementof shaft I4! is commensurate to the force needed for slowing up themovement of carriage plate 38 during the last step in the shiftingoperation and is transmitted from the compressor unit I4I to the plate38 through the following parts: I44, I45, I41, I53, I65, III, I6, 64 andthrough shaft 65 to gear 61 and finally to carriage plate 38, or if thebevel pinion I6 is idling, through the large bevel gear 82 over to bevelgear 71, through clutch member 64 to shaft 65 and from there to spurgear 61 and again through the latter to rack 38a of plate 38.

Just before spur gear I65 has completed its half rotation the two pinsI69 and III: on the opposite side of collar I64 and I53 are brought intocontact with cam lever I61 and the latter is rocked downwardly again bythis pin I69 during its movement over the cam surface I6Ia to the highpoint I6'Ic. Such downward rocking movement of lever I6! causes slidableclutch member whatsoever on said cam lever I61.

I53 to follow suit to again engage with its lower teeth I51 thecomplementary notches I58 in stationary member I59, thus locking pistonI43 against further operation. This cycle of operation can nly beinitiated when cam lever I61 is released during the last step of a shiftby a component operated only at such time, irrespective of the positionof pins I69 which rotate continuously with gear I65.

The release of lever I61 is controlled by the movement of rocking leverI3I (Figure 4), since this lever is only oscillated by arm 32 at theconclusion of a shifting operation when the lug 36 comes into contactwith one of the steps 31 on plate 38, as has been fully explained in thepreceding part of this specification.

Rocking lever I3I is provided at its upper end with an appropriate cutout portion I3Ia. (Figure 4) equipped with a double acting cam I3Ibwhich normally is disposed with its high point on top of a pin I13carried by said cam lever I61. is apparent therefore that as long asrocking lever I3I is in its centralized or ineffective position, asshown in Figure 4, the cam lever I61 is held in its downward position(see Figure 5) in which it keeps slidable clutch collar I53 in lookingengagement with stationary member I59 against the pressure exerted bycompression spring I62 to the contrary. With lever I61 held in suchposition, rotation of spur gear I65 and its two pins I69 arrangeddiametrically opposite each other on the collar I64 will have no effectBut the moment lever I3I is rocked in either direction by arm 32, pinI13 on lever I61 will move to one side of cam I3Ib and lever I61 will befree to rock upwardly as soon as the restraining influence of the twopins I69 is removed therefrom, thereby permitting clutch collar I53 toshift into driving engagement with the collar I64 of spur gear I65,forcing the latter to rotate against the action of compressor I4I, thuseffectively slowing up the movement of carriage plate 38 during the laststep of a shifting operation in order to relieve the strain placed ondogs H2 and H3 when they are stopping the carriage.

Operation The various mechanisms constituting the tabulating shifthaving been fully explained in the preceding specification, a briefdescription will presently be given of the sequence of operation of thevarious parts forming the subject matter of the present invention.

Let it be assumed that the operator wishes the accumulator carriage tobe shifted from the sixth order, in which it happens to be, to thesecond order. The operator will then have to depress the shift keyrepresenting the number two order of the actuator. This would be thesecond key from the right hand side when viewing Figures 1 and 2. As thekey stem 4 of this key is being pressed downwardly by the operatoragainst the tension of its compression spring 3, the slide 6 is shiftedtoward the left the number of increments necessary to position the lug36 on arm 32 in the shifting path of the #2 step or ridge 31 on thebottom face of carriage plate 38. Movement of slide 6 is transmitted toarm 32 by the parts I2, 2|, 24, 26 and 30. A mechanical representationof the instant or starting position of the carriage is formed by theposition of the ridge 31 in the path of movement of lug 36, and duringadjustment of arm 32, in this case, lug 36 will be moved over the #6ridge 31 with the result that arm 32 is rocked downwardly for aninstant, im-

parting a similar movement to two-armed rocking lever 34 (Figure 4)pivoted at 35 which with its right hand end underlying nose 45b of lever45, causes the latter to be raised sufficiently above nose 6I so as tobe latched in such raised position by spring biased latch 88.

Thus the preparatory steps in the shifting operation have been initiatedduring the first part of the downward stroke of the shift keyrepresenting the #2 order. These steps consist of forming a mechanicalrepresentation of the desired posit-ion of the carriage by positioninglug 36 in the path of the #2 ridge 31 for controlling the extent of theshifting operation and the latching of nose 45b in raised position forpredetermining the direction of the ensuing shift.

During the second part of the downward stroke of the #2 shift key, thebail I3 is rocked in clockwise dircction about its two pivot points I4(Figure 7) bringing the rearward projection I5 (Fig,- ures 1 and 2)thereof into the proper notch 29a of arcuate rack 29 on the forward endof bellcrank lever 26. At the same time, through downwardly extendingarm I6 on bail I3, bellcrank 4I (Figure 1) is rotated incounter-clockwise direction, causing two-armed lever 43 to be rotated inclockwise direction, therewith pushing arm 45 and slide 46, to which theformer is pivotally attached, a sufficient distance to the left, againstthe tension of spring 5I, so as to be latched by latch 53. This movementremoves the restraining influence of the strong tension spring 5| fromthe coil spring 52 on bail I3, thus permitting the latter to holdprojection I5 on bail I3 firmly in engagement with arcuate rack 29 untilslide 46 is released again at the completion of the shift. The arm 32and its lug 36 are therefore maintained in their adjusted positionsafter the operator releases the #2 shift key.

Two other important operations are instituted during the movement ofparts 45 and 46 towards latching position. Nose 45b, which has alreadybeen latched in raised position by hook 88a, is

moved on top of nose GIa of rocking lever 6|,

causing the latter to rock against the tension of the centrallzer 83 a.limited distance in clockwise direction about its fulcrum point 35, andby vir- ,tue of its pin and slot connection 62a (Figures 1 and 4) withshift fork 62, this fork is also rotated about its pivot point 63a, butin counter-clockwise direction, with the result that the clutch collar64 (Figure 5) on shaft 65 is shifted out of its looking or neutralposition and intodriving relationship with the lower bevel gear 11.

Coil spring 96 now unwinds and transmits rotational movement to theshaft 65 and the spur gear 61 through the medium of housing 91, bevelgears 82 and 11 and the clutch collar 64 which is keyed to said shaft 65by means of a pin 68, while bevel gear 16 is idling. However, shaft 65cannot commence to rotate until the dogs H2 and H3 (Figure 3) aredisengaged from their respective apertures 38b (Figure 6) in carriagesupport plate 38. This happens almost simultaneously with the operationjust described and is effected by the cam 46b through the medium ofparts H6, H1, H8, I2I, I22, I25 and I26. The timing of these twooperations is such that the clutch collar is fully positioned before thedogs H2 and II 3 are pulled out of engagement with plate 38.

All the parts necessary for predetermining the extent or distance of theshift as, well as the direction thereof are now held firmly locked intheir effective positions by the slide 46 and the latch 53 and thecarriage plate 38 is now free to be shifted by the coil spring 96 fromthe #6 order to the #2 order, this being in a direction towards theleft.

As soon as the carriage plate 38 is shifted through three of the fourorders required, step #2 comes into contact with lug 36, placed in itspath of operation, and the remaining movement into the #2 order by plate38 is utilized to stop the latter as well as to restore all the variousparts to their initial or normal locations.

Arm 32 is now pushed towards the left by the #2 step on plate 38 and indoing so oscillates lever I3I (Figure 4) which is pivoted at I32 to thebracket I33, in clockwise direction by virtue of its connection I35 andI36 with said lever I3I. This oscillation in clockwise direction oflever I3I, when viewing Figure 4, releases cam lever I67 so that it canswing upwardly to establish a driving relationship between compressor MIand shaft 65 to retard the shifting movement of plate 38 during the laststep, and also causes centralizer I3! to rock in counter-clockwisedirection, which in turn transmits its movement to lever I40 through theshaft I 38, to which both of the last mentioned levers are keyed.

The free end of lever I40 resting on top of a lateral extension of latch53 forces the latter against the tension of its spring 50 to release theslide 48 and consequently all the other parts controlled thereby whichare immediately restored to their neutral positions by the spring Theseparts comprise the dogs H2 and H3, two-armed lever 6i, shift fork 62,and clutch collar 64, dogs H2 and H3, clutch collar 53d, and gears 76and ii serving to stop and lock the carriage in position at thecompletion of the last step of the shifting operation. Tension spring 8becomes effective to restore (Figure 2) the slide 6, lever 2i, bellcrank26, and arm 32, which is centralized again to the position shown inFigures 1, 5 and 6 by centralizer Hi and through the medium of rockinglever 435 while the bail I3 is rotated in counter-clockwise direction toagain assume its neutral location, such as shown in Figures 2 and '7, bythe parts 45, 43 and it through the action of the tension spring 5 I Inarresting leftward movement of the carriage, lever 32 is moved towardthe left as it is viewed in Figures 1 and 6, which is toward the rightas it is viewed in Figure 4. Ihis movement carries it out of engagementwith the upper end of lever 3 so that the latter will not be relatchedin its left shift determining position as the lever 32 passes underridge 3? during restoration to normal position. A shift of the carriageto the right does not involve movement of the lug 36 past ridge 3?during either setting or restoration, so it is unnecessary to disengagelevers 32 and 34 during the stopping operation incident to a. shift inthis direction.

During the first digitation following this shifting operation, the coilspring 96 (Figure 5) will again be wound up by the parts comprising thefriction clutch 99 and by the gear I03 which is geared to the actuatorby a train of intermediate gears (not shown).

While the preferred construction has been described in the foregoingspecification, it is understood that the invention is capable ofniodification within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. a machine of the class described, a stationary mechanism, adisplaceable mechanism having a plurality of operative positions, meansmovable by said displaceable mechanism, means for shifting saiddisplaceable mechanism in either direction, selectively settable meansincluding a member movable to a plurality of positions corresponding tothe respective positions of said displaceable mechanism, and meansresponsive to said member in movement thereof jointly and concurrentlycontrolled by said movable member and said movable means, and withrespect to said movable means to determine the initial direction ofoperation of said shifting means.

2. The combination with a motor driven shiftable carriage, of aplurality of relatively movable members one of which moves synchronouslywith said carriage and another of which is settable with respect to saidfirst member, means controlled by the relative positions of said membersfor determining the extent of carriage movement, means controlled bysaid members jointly for controlling the direction of carriage movement,and means comprising a manipulable member for actuating said directioncontrolling means and initiating movement of said carriage.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a machineframe, a carriage transversely shiftable thereon to a series ofoperating positions, and motor driven mechanism selectively operable toshift said carriage in either direction to said operating positions; ofmeans movable by said carriage, selectively settable means including aseries of keys operable to form a series of mechanical representationscorresponding to the respective positions of said carriage, meanscontrolled by said movable means and responsive to said selectivelysettable means in setting movement thereof to determine the direction ofoperation of said carriage shifting mechanism, means operable by saidselectively settable means for initiating operation of said carriageshifting mechanism, means automatically effective upon initiation of theoperation of said shifting mechanism in response to operation of saidselectively settable means for latching said shifting mechanism inoperating condition,

and means controlled by the carriage upon movement to the positionrepresented by the setting of said selectively settable means fordisabling said latching means.

4. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a machineframe, a carriage transversely shiftable thereon to a series ofoperating positions, and motor driven mechanism selectively operable toshift said carriage in either direction to said operating positions; ofmeans movable by said. carriage selectively settable means including aseries of'keys operable to form a series of mechanical representationscorre sponding to the respective positions of said carriage, meansjointly and concurrently controlled by said movable means and responsiveto said selectively settable means in setting movement of the latter todetermine the initial direction of operation of said carriage shiftingmechanism, means operable by said selectively settable means forinitiating operation of said carriage shifting mechanism, and meanscontrolled by the carriage upon movement to the position represented bythe setting of said selectively settable means for terminating operationof said carriage shifting mechanism.

5. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a machineframe, a carriage transversely shiftable thereon to a series ofoperating positions, motor driven mechanism selectively operable toshift said carriage in either direction to said operating positions, anda control device for said mechanism selectively settable to determinethe direction of movement of said carriage thereby; of means movable bysaid carriage means selectively settable to form a series of mechanicalrepresentations corresponding to the respective positions of saidcarriage, and means jointly and concurrently controlled by said movablemeans and settable in response to, said selectively settable means insetting of the latter for controlling adjustment of said control deviceto predetermine the initial direction of carriage movement.

6. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a machineframe, a carriage transversely shiftable thereon to a series ofoperating positions, motor driven mechanism selectively operable toshift said carriage in either direction to said operating positions, anda control device for said mechanism selectively settable to determinethe direction of movement of said carriage thereby; of means movable bysaid'carriage means selectively settable to form a series of mechanicalrepresentations corresponding to the respective positions of saidcarriage, means jointly and concurrently controlled by said movablemeans and settable in response to said selectively settable means insetting of the latter for controlling adjustment of said control deviceto predetermine the initial direction of carriage movement, means forinitiating operation of said car riage shifting mechanism, and meanscontrolled by the carriage upon movement to the position represented bythe setting of said selectively settable means for terminating operationof said carriage shifting mechanism.

'7. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a machineframe, a carriage transversely shiftable thereon to a series ofoperating positions, and motor driven mechanism selectively operable toshift said carriage in either direction to said operating positions; ofmeans movable by said carriage means selectively settable to form aseries of mechanical representations corresponding to the respectivepositions of said carriage, and means jointly and concurrentlycontrolled by said movable means and settable in response to saidselectively settablemeans in setting movement of the latter to determinethe initial direction of operation of said carriage shifting mechanism.

8. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a machineframe, a carriage transversely shiftable thereon to a series ofoperating positions, and motor driven mechanism selectively operable toshift saiEFcarriage in either direction to said operating positions; ofmeans movable by said carriage means selectively settable to form aseries of mechanical representations corresponding to the respectivepositions of said carriage, means jointly and concurrently controlled bysaid movable means and settable in response to said selectively settablemeans in setting movement of the latter to determine the initialdirection of operation of said carriage shifting mechanism, means forinitiating operation of said carriage shifting mechanism and .meanscontrolled by the carriage upon movement to the position represented bythe setting of said selectively settable means for terminating operationof said carriage shifting mechanism.

9. In a machine of the class described, the combination with-a machineframe, a carriage transversely shiftable thereon to a series ofoperating positions, andmotor driven mechanism operable to shift saidcarriage; of selectively settable means including a series of keysoperable to form a series of mechanical representations corresponding tothe respective positions of said carriage, means movable by saidcarriage, means under the joint and concurrent control of said two meansfor selectively determining the initial direction and extent of carriagemovement, and means comprising said series of keys for initiatingmovement of the carriage.

10. In a machine of the class described having a frame, and a carriagetransversely shiftable thereon to a series of operating positions; thecombination with power operated carriage shifting mechanism cyclicallyoperable to shift the carriage from one operating position to anadjacent operating position during each cycle of operation thereof,including a control device and means for preventing operation of saidcontrol device to interrupt operation of said mechanism except at theconclusion of each full cycle of operation thereof; of tabulationcontrol means settable to form a mechanical representation of a desiredposition of said carriage, means for actuating said control device toinitiate operation of said carriage shifting means, and means controlledby said tabulation control means and rendered effective upon movement ofsaid carriage to a position Within the distance between operatingpositions in advance of the desired position represented by the settingof said settable control-means, for rendering said control deviceeffective to interrupt operation of said carriage shifting mechanism atthe conclusion of the current cycle of operation thereof.

11. In a machine of the class described having a frame, and a carriagetransverselyshiftable thereon to series of operating positions; thecombination with power operated carriage shifting mechanism cyclicallyoperable to shift the carriage from one operating position to anadjacent operating position during each cycle of operation thereof,including a control device and means for preventing operation of saidcontrol device to interrupt operation of said mechanism except at theconclusion of each full cycle of operation thereof; of tabulationcontrol means settable to form a mechanical representation of a desiredposition of the carriage, means for actuating said control device toinitiate operation of said carriage shifting means, and control meansfor said carriage shifting mechanism operable to cause the same to shiftsaid carriage from any of said operating positions to a position withinthe distance between operating positions in advance of the desiredposition represented by the setting of said settable control the currentcycle of operation thereof.

WELLS A. WEBB.

